In any society, women are an integral part of the social framework. Sadly, women in Pakistani society have been subjugated for most of our history. When women speak out against oppression, they targeted by condescending trolls and their lives are threatened. Our sexist so-called intellectuals gleefully proclaim that providing women even basic rights will lead to moral degeneration.
Such fatuous fabrications tend to unabashedly absolve men of taking responsibility of Pakistan's standing as one of the worst countries for women in economic resources, discrimination, and the dangers women suffer from cultural, religious, and traditions, such as honor killings.
It is evident from history that all the oppressed segments of the world which include women, slaves, minorities, labour and students, have achieved their rights through continuous struggle. Same is the case with the gravity of women’s place in the society. She transitioned from a matriarchal to a patriarchal civilisation and was compelled to enslave herself for the male. She became the most oppressed segment of the society. She is called Sinf-e-Nazuk.
The quote of Amrita Pritam truly reflects our society -- “A man’s sin sinks like a pebble in the pool of time. A woman’s sin stays on the surface like a lotus flower all her life.”
Workers in Chicago sacrificed their lives on May 1 for the Labour Movement, which ushered in various reforms such as capping work hours. No one questioned their faith. Regrettably, women's rights movement in Pakistan is perceived as anti-religious and anti-Pakistan. Since the announcement of the Aurat March, some so-called intellectuals have begun to assert that a few women wish to ruin Pakistan's culture. They refer to Mera Jism, Meri Marzi as an indecent slogan.
The phrase became an unofficial chant of the gender equality movements in the United States in the 1970s. The practice of referring to it as indecent reflects their frustration. They think women were created for sex and that they should not be allocated any social responsibilities other than carriers of the world's customs and traditions.
The rulers in Pakistan have taken advantage of this mindset. Isn't it true that woman's freedom to choose her husband is considered a violation of our societal norms? Isn't it true that girls do not have easy access to education? Isn't it true that Pakistan is slightly ahead of Afghanistan on the international women's literacy index? Isn't it true that 40,000 women have been abducted in Punjab alone since 2017, equating to 8,000 women per year and 650 women per month? Though Punjab police claim to have recovered 37,140 women, assuming this to be accurate, 3,571 women remain missing, highlighting our state's deplorable state of affairs and failing to ensure the implementation of women's basic rights.
Recently, the federal minister for religious affairs wrote to Prime Minister Imran Khan, requesting that the Aurat March be banned this year. He speaks for the majority of the country that sees the Aurat March as a foreign agenda against our Islamic modesty. The issue isn't with us only; it's also with the basic underpinnings of this state which is neurotic and despotic to others who don’t fit its patriarchal definitions.
This alienation is an ontological product of state, and women, regardless of their social class, are subjected to the threat of collective delegitimisation. They are regarded not just as biological breeding vessels, but also as bearers of national identity and culture. The female body is viewed as a national body that requires layers of social and theological traditions to protect it. Thus, production of nation and culture through women runs through all retrogressive, conservative and so-called modern nations, from Islamic Patriarchal of Pakistan, to Hindutva of India to the white in Europe. The struggle against patriarchal misogyny must go beyond the demand for individual rights and focus on the collective orthodoxy which has crippled our society. When religious conservatism was weakened throughout Islamic history, scholarship and the arts flourished, resulting in the Golden Islamic Age.
Today, we must break free from the chains of a retrogressive and misogynistic mindset and embrace the new social norms that the 21st century has to offer. We must unify against religious fanaticism that has become ingrained in our psyche if we are to flourish in this world, which we cannot accomplish without the participation of half of our population.
Such fatuous fabrications tend to unabashedly absolve men of taking responsibility of Pakistan's standing as one of the worst countries for women in economic resources, discrimination, and the dangers women suffer from cultural, religious, and traditions, such as honor killings.
It is evident from history that all the oppressed segments of the world which include women, slaves, minorities, labour and students, have achieved their rights through continuous struggle. Same is the case with the gravity of women’s place in the society. She transitioned from a matriarchal to a patriarchal civilisation and was compelled to enslave herself for the male. She became the most oppressed segment of the society. She is called Sinf-e-Nazuk.
“A man’s sin sinks like a pebble in the pool of time. A woman’s sin stays on the surface like a lotus flower all her life” – Amrita Pritam
The quote of Amrita Pritam truly reflects our society -- “A man’s sin sinks like a pebble in the pool of time. A woman’s sin stays on the surface like a lotus flower all her life.”
Workers in Chicago sacrificed their lives on May 1 for the Labour Movement, which ushered in various reforms such as capping work hours. No one questioned their faith. Regrettably, women's rights movement in Pakistan is perceived as anti-religious and anti-Pakistan. Since the announcement of the Aurat March, some so-called intellectuals have begun to assert that a few women wish to ruin Pakistan's culture. They refer to Mera Jism, Meri Marzi as an indecent slogan.
The phrase became an unofficial chant of the gender equality movements in the United States in the 1970s. The practice of referring to it as indecent reflects their frustration. They think women were created for sex and that they should not be allocated any social responsibilities other than carriers of the world's customs and traditions.
The rulers in Pakistan have taken advantage of this mindset. Isn't it true that woman's freedom to choose her husband is considered a violation of our societal norms? Isn't it true that girls do not have easy access to education? Isn't it true that Pakistan is slightly ahead of Afghanistan on the international women's literacy index? Isn't it true that 40,000 women have been abducted in Punjab alone since 2017, equating to 8,000 women per year and 650 women per month? Though Punjab police claim to have recovered 37,140 women, assuming this to be accurate, 3,571 women remain missing, highlighting our state's deplorable state of affairs and failing to ensure the implementation of women's basic rights.
We must break free from the chains of a retrogressive and misogynistic mindset and embrace the new social norms that the 21st century has to offer. We must unify against religious fanaticism that has become ingrained in our psyche if we are to flourish in this world.
Recently, the federal minister for religious affairs wrote to Prime Minister Imran Khan, requesting that the Aurat March be banned this year. He speaks for the majority of the country that sees the Aurat March as a foreign agenda against our Islamic modesty. The issue isn't with us only; it's also with the basic underpinnings of this state which is neurotic and despotic to others who don’t fit its patriarchal definitions.
This alienation is an ontological product of state, and women, regardless of their social class, are subjected to the threat of collective delegitimisation. They are regarded not just as biological breeding vessels, but also as bearers of national identity and culture. The female body is viewed as a national body that requires layers of social and theological traditions to protect it. Thus, production of nation and culture through women runs through all retrogressive, conservative and so-called modern nations, from Islamic Patriarchal of Pakistan, to Hindutva of India to the white in Europe. The struggle against patriarchal misogyny must go beyond the demand for individual rights and focus on the collective orthodoxy which has crippled our society. When religious conservatism was weakened throughout Islamic history, scholarship and the arts flourished, resulting in the Golden Islamic Age.
Today, we must break free from the chains of a retrogressive and misogynistic mindset and embrace the new social norms that the 21st century has to offer. We must unify against religious fanaticism that has become ingrained in our psyche if we are to flourish in this world, which we cannot accomplish without the participation of half of our population.